Reading order
The Book of the Ancestor reading order
1
2
3- 3 volumes
- Volumes
- 2017–2019
- Published
- about 23 h
- Reading time
- Completed
- Status
- Fantasy#33
- Genre
Quick answer
Publication order
3 volumes2017–2019Completed
- A complete trilogy about Nona Grey, taken from the gallows to a convent that trains warrior nuns.
- Red Sister opens strongly; Grey Sister, the middle book, rates highest.
- It shares a world with Lawrence’s Book of the Ice, which can be read afterwards.
A plan for the whole series
3 volumes, 1,268 pages, about 23 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 4 weeks.
Share of volume 1’s readers who reach the last volume. Chance of reaching the last volume: high
Stages
2 stages, with 1 short book from outside the series between them. You finish around December 3, 2026, 4 days later than in one go.
- Stage 117 habout 3 weeksby November 20, 2026
- Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.8
- Stage 26 h9 daysby December 3, 2026
- The end of the series
We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.
Does the series hold up
Shape of the series: even. Volume scores differ by at most 0.2 points. You get the same level from the first page to the last.
Best volume: Grey Sister (8.4, 294 ratings). Weakest: Red Sister (8.2). The series is complete; you can read it start to finish with no waiting. The last volume (8.3) scores close to the series average or above it.
How this plan is calculated
The plan comes from the pages and ratings of each volume: we split the series into stages of about three weeks’ reading, size each break to the stage before it, and read the chance of finishing from how many readers rate the last volume compared with the first. How we work out the plan →
Every volume in order
Order checked by hand · Order and years: Wikidata (CC0). Spotted an error? Tell us. · Data updated October 29, 2026
The Book of the Ancestor books ranked, best to worst
- 1.Grey SisterBook 2 · 20188.4
- 2.Holy SisterBook 3 · 20198.3
- 3.Red SisterBook 1 · 20178.2
Frequently asked questions
Which Book of the Ancestor book is the best?
By reader score, Grey Sister (8.4/10). The lowest-rated is Red Sister (8.2/10).
Which The Book of the Ancestor book is the longest?
“Red Sister” is the longest at 500 pages; the shortest is “Holy Sister” with 352 pages.
What should I read after The Book of the Ancestor?
Other series by Mark Lawrence: The Broken Empire Trilogy.
